Derby is set to take a significant step towards tackling health inequalities with plans to become the first Marmot Place in the East Midlands. Cabinet will be asked to approve this new approach at their meeting on Wednesday 1 July.

Becoming a Marmot Place means adopting a nationally recognised framework which focuses on the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age. Rather than just treating illness, the framework involves embedding health equity across all local policies, services, and partnerships to tackle the root causes of poor health. 

Currently, 40% of the English population live in areas that have already adopted this approach.

Despite ongoing work to improve public health and wellbeing, persistent health inequalities remain in Derby, with life expectancy remaining below the national average. 

Where people live, however, impacts their health. Men in the most affluent areas live 11.2 years longer than those in the most deprived parts, while for women, the gap is 10.8 years.

There are also significant differences in the number of years people can expect to live in good health. People living in Derby's most affluent neighbourhoods can expect to live in good health for roughly 19 years longer than those in the most disadvantaged areas.

Councillor Alison Martin, Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Care, said:

Everyone in Derby deserves the chance to live a long, healthy life. Right now, health inequalities in the city are far too significant. 

 

Whilst the NHS and others work incredibly hard every day, and are getting waiting lists and times down, we also need to bring a more cohesive and systematic approach to addressing some of the wider determinants of health, such as housing, employment, and poverty.

 

Adopting the Marmot framework would help us put well-being for all at the heart of every single decision the Council makes, with the aim of  helping residents live longer, healthier, and more fulfilling lives.

Subject to Cabinet approval, the Institute of Health Equity (IHE) will embark on a two-year partnership with Derby City Council, expected to run from Autumn 2026 to September 2028. This proposed programme of work will deliver an overarching framework designed to strengthen and align the Council’s existing plans, including the Health and Wellbeing and Anti-Poverty strategies.

The framework is named after Professor Sir Michael Marmot, who has published two groundbreaking reports on health inequality and founded the IHE at University College London (UCL). The framework covers eight core principles:

  • Give every child the best start in life
  • Enable all children, young people and adults to maximise their capabilities and have control over their lives
  • Create fair employment and good work for all
  • Ensure a healthy standard of living for all
  • Create and develop healthy and sustainable places and communities
  • Strengthen the role and impact of ill health prevention  
  • Tackle racism, discrimination and their outcomes  
  • Pursue environmental sustainability and health equity together.

This approach to tackling health inequalities will be discussed by Cabinet at their meeting on Wednesday 1 July. You can view all the papers on the council’s democracy portal and watch live on YouTube.